Scheduling Profile for UE Power Savings

ABSTRACT

Apparatuses, systems, and methods for a wireless device to perform a method including a user equipment device (UE) exchanging communications with a base station to determine one or more scheduling profiles, such as one or more scheduling-power profiles, where a scheduling-power profile may specify one or more parameters associated with UE communication behavior, e.g., one or more constraints on UE communication behavior and/or slot scheduling of UE communications. In addition, the method may include the UE receiving a slot configuration schedule from the base station. The slot configuration schedule may be based on at least one scheduling-power profile of the one or more scheduling-power profiles. Further, the method may include the UE performing communications with the base station based on the at least one scheduling-power profile.

PRIORITY DATA

This application claims benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/641,564, titled “Scheduling Profile for UE PowerSavings”, filed Mar. 12, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety as though fully and completely set forth herein.

FIELD

The present application relates to wireless devices, and moreparticularly to apparatus, systems, and methods for a wireless device tocommunicate a scheduling profile, such as a scheduling-power profile,for power savings to a network.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Wireless communication systems are rapidly growing in usage. In recentyears, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers havebecome increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting telephonecalls, many mobile devices now provide access to the internet, email,text messaging, and navigation using the global positioning system(GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications thatutilize these functionalities.

Long Term Evolution (LTE) has become the technology of choice for themajority of wireless network operators worldwide, providing mobilebroadband data and high-speed Internet access to their subscriber base.LTE defines a number of downlink (DL) physical channels, categorized astransport or control channels, to carry information blocks received frommedia access control (MAC) and higher layers. LTE also defines a numberof physical layer channels for the uplink (UL).

For example, LTE defines a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) as aDL transport channel. The PDSCH is the main data-bearing channelallocated to users on a dynamic and opportunistic basis. The PDSCHcarries data in Transport Blocks (TB) corresponding to a MAC protocoldata unit (PDU), passed from the MAC layer to the physical (PHY) layeronce per Transmission Time Interval (TTI). The PDSCH is also used totransmit broadcast information such as System Information Blocks (SIB)and paging messages.

As another example, LTE defines a Physical Downlink Control Channel(PDCCH) as a DL control channel that carries the resource assignment forUEs that are contained in a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message.Multiple PDCCHs can be transmitted in the same subframe using ControlChannel Elements (CCE), each of which is a nine set of four resourceelements known as Resource Element Groups (REG). The PDCCH employsquadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation, with four QPSK symbolsmapped to each REG. Furthermore, 1, 2, 4, or 8 CCEs can be used for aUE, depending on channel conditions, to ensure sufficient robustness.

Additionally, LTE defines a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) as aUL channel shared by all devices (user equipment, UE) in a radio cell totransmit user data to the network. The scheduling for all UEs is undercontrol of the LTE base station (enhanced Node B, or eNB). The eNB usesthe uplink scheduling grant (DCI format 0) to inform the UE aboutresource block (RB) assignment, and the modulation and coding scheme tobe used. PUSCH typically supports QPSK and quadrature amplitudemodulation (QAM). In addition to user data, the PUSCH also carries anycontrol information necessary to decode the information, such astransport format indicators and multiple-in multiple-out (MIMO)parameters. Control data is multiplexed with information data prior todigital Fourier transform (DFT) spreading.

A proposed next telecommunications standard moving beyond the currentInternational Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced (IMT-Advanced)Standards is called 5th generation mobile networks or 5th generationwireless systems, or 5G for short (otherwise known as 5G-NR for 5G NewRadio, also simply referred to as NR). 5G-NR proposes a higher capacityfor a higher density of mobile broadband users, also supportingdevice-to-device, ultra-reliable, and massive machine communications, aswell as lower latency and lower battery consumption, than current LTEstandards. Further, the 5G-NR standard may allow for less restrictive UEscheduling as compared to current LTE standards. Consequently, effortsare being made in ongoing developments of 5G-NR to take advantage of theless restrictive UE scheduling in order to further leverage powersavings opportunities.

SUMMARY

Embodiments relate to apparatuses, systems, and methods to schedule auser equipment device (UE) based on a scheduling-power profile.

In some embodiments, a user equipment device may be configured toperform a method to constrain UE communication behavior. The method mayinclude the UE exchanging communications with a base station todetermine one or more scheduling profiles, such as one or morescheduling-power profiles. In some embodiments, the communications withthe base station to determine the one or more scheduling-power profilesmay include exchange of one or more radio resource control (RRC) signalmessages. In some embodiments, the one or more scheduling-power profilesmay not conflict with one another. In some embodiments, ascheduling-power profile may specify one or more parameters associatedwith UE communication behavior, e.g., one or more constraints on UEcommunication behavior and/or slot scheduling of UE communications. Inaddition, the method may include the UE receiving a slot configurationschedule from the base station. The slot configuration schedule may bebased on at least one scheduling-power profile of the one or morescheduling-power profiles. Further, the method may include the UEperforming communications with the base station based on the at leastone scheduling-power profile.

In some embodiments, the one or more scheduling-power profiles mayinclude a profile that may constrain the base station to scheduletransmission of an acknowledgment of data received on the PDCCH to aslot immediately preceding a slot scheduled for PDCCH monitoring. Insome embodiments, the one or more scheduling-power profiles may includea profile that constrains the base station to schedule transmission onthe PUSCH to a slot immediately preceding a slot scheduled for PDCCHmonitoring. In some embodiments, the one or more scheduling-powerprofiles may include a profile that constrains the base station tocross-slot schedule transmission of an ACK of a PDCCH and a reception onthe PDSCH to a slot immediately preceding a slot scheduled for PDCCHmonitoring.

The techniques described herein may be implemented in and/or used with anumber of different types of devices, including but not limited tocellular phones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portablemedia players, and any of various other computing devices.

This Summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of thesubject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it will beappreciated that the above-described features are merely examples andshould not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subjectmatter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, andadvantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparentfrom the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present subject matter can be obtainedwhen the following detailed description of various embodiments isconsidered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a base station (BS) in communication with a userequipment (UE) device according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example block diagram of a UE according to someembodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example block diagram of a BS according to someembodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example block diagram of cellular communicationcircuitry, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6A illustrates an example of connections between an EPC network, anLTE base station (eNB), and a 5G NR base station (gNB).

FIG. 6B illustrates an example of a protocol stack for an eNB and a gNB.

FIG. 7A illustrates an example of a 5G network architecture thatincorporates both 3GPP (e.g., cellular) and non-3GPP (e.g.,non-cellular) access to the 5G CN, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7B illustrates an example of a 5G network architecture thatincorporates both dual 3GPP (e.g., LTE and 5G NR) access and non-3GPPaccess to the 5G CN, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a baseband processor architecture for aUE, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9A illustrates an example of a PDCCH monitoring interval.

FIG. 9B illustrates an example of power consumption of a UE for multiplePDCCH monitoring slots.

FIGS. 10A-10C illustrate an example of power consumption of a UE formultiple transmissions during PDCCH monitoring.

FIG. 10D illustrates an example of power consumption of a UE formultiple transmissions during PDCCH monitoring, according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 11A-11C illustrate an example of power consumption of a UE formultiple receptions during PDCCH monitoring.

FIG. 11D illustrates an example of power consumption of a UE formultiple receptions during PDCCH monitoring, according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 12A-12C illustrate an example of power consumption of a UE for atransmission followed by a reception during PDCCH monitoring.

FIG. 12D illustrates an example of power consumption of a UE for atransmission followed by a reception during PDCCH monitoring, accordingto some embodiments.

FIGS. 13A-13C illustrate an example of power consumption of a UE for areception followed by a transmission during PDCCH monitoring.

FIG. 13D illustrates an example of power consumption of a UE for areception followed by a transmission during PDCCH monitoring, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 14 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a process fordetermining a scheduling profile for a UE, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 15 illustrates example profiles and correspond UE behaviors,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 16 illustrates example parameter sets for various profiles,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a delayed acknowledgement withfollowing PDCCH monitoring, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a delayed PUSCH with following PDCCHmonitoring, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of delayed cross-slot scheduling withfollowing PDCCH monitoring, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of self-contained slot scheduling withfollowing PDCCH monitoring, according to some embodiments.

While the features described herein may be susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof areshown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described indetail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detaileddescription thereto are not intended to be limiting to the particularform disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Terms

The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

Memory Medium—Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices orstorage devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include aninstallation medium, e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks, or tape device; acomputer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM,SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; a non-volatile memory such as a Flash,magnetic media, e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage; registers, orother similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium mayinclude other types of non-transitory memory as well or combinationsthereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a firstcomputer system in which the programs are executed, or may be located ina second different computer system which connects to the first computersystem over a network, such as the Internet. In the latter instance, thesecond computer system may provide program instructions to the firstcomputer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or morememory mediums which may reside in different locations, e.g., indifferent computer systems that are connected over a network. The memorymedium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as computerprograms) that may be executed by one or more processors.

Carrier Medium—a memory medium as described above, as well as a physicaltransmission medium, such as a bus, network, and/or other physicaltransmission medium that conveys signals such as electrical,electromagnetic, or digital signals.

Programmable Hardware Element—includes various hardware devicescomprising multiple programmable function blocks connected via aprogrammable interconnect. Examples include FPGAs (Field ProgrammableGate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (FieldProgrammable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). The programmablefunction blocks may range from fine grained (combinatorial logic or lookup tables) to coarse grained (arithmetic logic units or processorcores). A programmable hardware element may also be referred to as“reconfigurable logic”.

Computer System—any of various types of computing or processing systems,including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system,workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digitalassistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or otherdevice or combinations of devices. In general, the term “computersystem” can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combinationof devices) having at least one processor that executes instructionsfrom a memory medium.

User Equipment (UE) (or “UE Device”)—any of various types of computersystems devices which are mobile or portable and which performs wirelesscommunications. Examples of UE devices include mobile telephones orsmart phones (e.g., iPhone™, Android™-based phones), portable gamingdevices (e.g., Nintendo DS™ PlayStation Portable™, Gameboy Advance™,iPhone™), laptops, wearable devices (e.g. smart watch, smart glasses),PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, orother handheld devices, etc. In general, the term “UE” or “UE device”can be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and/ortelecommunications device (or combination of devices) which is easilytransported by a user and capable of wireless communication.

Base Station—The term “Base Station” has the full breadth of itsordinary meaning, and at least includes a wireless communication stationinstalled at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of awireless telephone system or radio system.

Processing Element—refers to various elements or combinations ofelements that are capable of performing a function in a device, such asa user equipment or a cellular network device. Processing elements mayinclude, for example: processors and associated memory, portions orcircuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores,processor arrays, circuits such as an ASIC (Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit), programmable hardware elements such as a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), as well any of various combinations ofthe above.

Channel—a medium used to convey information from a sender (transmitter)to a receiver. It should be noted that since characteristics of the term“channel” may differ according to different wireless protocols, the term“channel” as used herein may be considered as being used in a mannerthat is consistent with the standard of the type of device withreference to which the term is used. In some standards, channel widthsmay be variable (e.g., depending on device capability, band conditions,etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, WLAN channels may be 22 MHz wide whileBluetooth channels may be 1 Mhz wide. Other protocols and standards mayinclude different definitions of channels. Furthermore, some standardsmay define and use multiple types of channels, e.g., different channelsfor uplink or downlink and/or different channels for different uses suchas data, control information, etc.

Band—The term “band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning, andat least includes a section of spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum)in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

Automatically—refers to an action or operation performed by a computersystem (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g.,circuitry, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.), without userinput directly specifying or performing the action or operation. Thusthe term “automatically” is in contrast to an operation being manuallyperformed or specified by the user, where the user provides input todirectly perform the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiatedby input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that areperformed “automatically” are not specified by the user, i.e., are notperformed “manually”, where the user specifies each action to perform.For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting eachfield and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typinginformation, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is fillingout the form manually, even though the computer system must update theform in response to the user actions. The form may be automaticallyfilled out by the computer system where the computer system (e.g.,software executing on the computer system) analyzes the fields of theform and fills in the form without any user input specifying the answersto the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automaticfilling of the form, but is not involved in the actual filling of theform (e.g., the user is not manually specifying answers to fields butrather they are being automatically completed). The presentspecification provides various examples of operations beingautomatically performed in response to actions the user has taken.

Approximately—refers to a value that is almost correct or exact. Forexample, approximately may refer to a value that is within 1 to 10percent of the exact (or desired) value. It should be noted, however,that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may be applicationdependent. For example, in some embodiments, “approximately” may meanwithin 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various otherembodiments, the threshold may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, and soforth, as desired or as required by the particular application.

Concurrent—refers to parallel execution or performance, where tasks,processes, or programs are performed in an at least partiallyoverlapping manner. For example, concurrency may be implemented using“strong” or strict parallelism, where tasks are performed (at leastpartially) in parallel on respective computational elements, or using“weak parallelism”, where the tasks are performed in an interleavedmanner, e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads.

Various components may be described as “configured to” perform a task ortasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad recitation generallymeaning “having structure that” performs the task or tasks duringoperation. As such, the component can be configured to perform the taskeven when the component is not currently performing that task (e.g., aset of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect amodule to another module, even when the two modules are not connected).In some contexts, “configured to” may be a broad recitation of structuregenerally meaning “having circuitry that” performs the task or tasksduring operation. As such, the component can be configured to performthe task even when the component is not currently on. In general, thecircuitry that forms the structure corresponding to “configured to” mayinclude hardware circuits.

Various components may be described as performing a task or tasks, forconvenience in the description. Such descriptions should be interpretedas including the phrase “configured to.” Reciting a component that isconfigured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not toinvoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) interpretation for that component.

FIGS. 1 and 2—Communication System

FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified example wireless communication system,according to some embodiments. It is noted that the system of FIG. 1 ismerely one example of a possible system, and that features of thisdisclosure may be implemented in any of various systems, as desired.

As shown, the example wireless communication system includes a basestation 102A which communicates over a transmission medium with one ormore user devices 106A, 106B, etc., through 106N. Each of the userdevices may be referred to herein as a “user equipment” (UE). Thus, theuser devices 106 are referred to as UEs or UE devices.

The base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) orcell site (a “cellular base station”), and may include hardware thatenables wireless communication with the UEs 106A through 106N.

The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station may bereferred to as a “cell.” The base station 102A and the UEs 106 may beconfigured to communicate over the transmission medium using any ofvarious radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wirelesscommunication technologies, or telecommunication standards, such as GSM,UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces),LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G new radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000(e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. Note that if the base station102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternately bereferred to as an ‘eNodeB’ or ‘eNB’. Note that if the base station 102Ais implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternately be referredto as ‘gNodeB’ or ‘gNB’.

As shown, the base station 102A may also be equipped to communicate witha network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, atelecommunication network such as a public switched telephone network(PSTN), and/or the Internet, among various possibilities). Thus, thebase station 102A may facilitate communication between the user devicesand/or between the user devices and the network 100. In particular, thecellular base station 102A may provide UEs 106 with varioustelecommunication capabilities, such as voice, SMS and/or data services.

Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations102B . . . 102N) operating according to the same or a different cellularcommunication standard may thus be provided as a network of cells, whichmay provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UEs106A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or morecellular communication standards.

Thus, while base station 102A may act as a “serving cell” for UEs 106A-Nas illustrated in FIG. 1, each UE 106 may also be capable of receivingsignals from (and possibly within communication range of) one or moreother cells (which might be provided by base stations 102B-N and/or anyother base stations), which may be referred to as “neighboring cells”.Such cells may also be capable of facilitating communication betweenuser devices and/or between user devices and the network 100. Such cellsmay include “macro” cells, “micro” cells, “pico” cells, and/or cellswhich provide any of various other granularities of service area size.For example, base stations 102A-B illustrated in FIG. 1 might be macrocells, while base station 102N might be a micro cell. Otherconfigurations are also possible.

In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next generation basestation, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB”. In someembodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core(EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cellmay include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Inaddition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connectedto one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

Note that a UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiplewireless communication standards. For example, the UE 106 may beconfigured to communicate using a wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi)and/or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth,Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.) in addition to at least one cellularcommunication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example,WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2CDMA2000 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.). The UE 106 may alsoor alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more globalnavigational satellite systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or moremobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M/H or DVB-H),and/or any other wireless communication protocol, if desired. Othercombinations of wireless communication standards (including more thantwo wireless communication standards) are also possible.

FIG. 2 illustrates user equipment 106 (e.g., one of the devices 106Athrough 106N) in communication with a base station 102, according tosome embodiments. The UE 106 may be a device with cellular communicationcapability such as a mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer or atablet, or virtually any type of wireless device.

The UE 106 may include a processor that is configured to execute programinstructions stored in memory. The UE 106 may perform any of the methodembodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions.Alternatively, or in addition, the UE 106 may include a programmablehardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) that isconfigured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, orany portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

The UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using oneor more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In someembodiments, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, forexample, CDMA2000 (1×RTT/1×EV-DO/HRPD/eHRPD) or LTE using a singleshared radio and/or GSM or LTE using the single shared radio. The sharedradio may couple to a single antenna, or may couple to multiple antennas(e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. In general, aradio may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog RFsignal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers,oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or digital processing circuitry (e.g.,for digital modulation as well as other digital processing). Similarly,the radio may implement one or more receive and transmit chains usingthe aforementioned hardware. For example, the UE 106 may share one ormore parts of a receive and/or transmit chain between multiple wirelesscommunication technologies, such as those discussed above.

In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include separate transmit and/orreceive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radiocomponents) for each wireless communication protocol with which it isconfigured to communicate. As a further possibility, the UE 106 mayinclude one or more radios which are shared between multiple wirelesscommunication protocols, and one or more radios which are usedexclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example,the UE 106 might include a shared radio for communicating using eitherof LTE or 5G NR (or LTE or 1×RTT or LTE or GSM), and separate radios forcommunicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurationsare also possible.

FIG. 3—Block Diagram of a UE

FIG. 3 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of acommunication device 106, according to some embodiments. It is notedthat the block diagram of the communication device of FIG. 3 is only oneexample of a possible communication device. According to embodiments,communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobiledevice or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, adesktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., alaptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet and/or acombination of devices, among other devices. As shown, the communicationdevice 106 may include a set of components 300 configured to performcore functions. For example, this set of components may be implementedas a system on chip (SOC), which may include portions for variouspurposes. Alternatively, this set of components 300 may be implementedas separate components or groups of components for the various purposes.The set of components 300 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively;directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communicationdevice 106.

For example, the communication device 106 may include various types ofmemory (e.g., including NAND flash 310), an input/output interface suchas connector I/F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; dock;charging station; input devices, such as a microphone, camera, keyboard;output devices, such as speakers; etc.), the display 360, which may beintegrated with or external to the communication device 106, andcellular communication circuitry 330 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc.,and short to medium range wireless communication circuitry 329 (e.g.,Bluetooth™ and WLAN circuitry). In some embodiments, communicationdevice 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), suchas a network interface card, e.g., for Ethernet.

The cellular communication circuitry 330 may couple (e.g.,communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, suchas antennas 335 and 336 as shown. The short to medium range wirelesscommunication circuitry 329 may also couple (e.g., communicatively;directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 337and 338 as shown. Alternatively, the short to medium range wirelesscommunication circuitry 329 may couple (e.g., communicatively; directlyor indirectly) to the antennas 335 and 336 in addition to, or insteadof, coupling (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to theantennas 337 and 338. The short to medium range wireless communicationcircuitry 329 and/or cellular communication circuitry 330 may includemultiple receive chains and/or multiple transmit chains for receivingand/or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in amultiple-input multiple output (MIMO) configuration.

In some embodiments, as further described below, cellular communicationcircuitry 330 may include dedicated receive chains (including and/orcoupled to, e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly. dedicatedprocessors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chainfor LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). In addition, in someembodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include a singletransmit chain that may be switched between radios dedicated to specificRATs. For example, a first radio may be dedicated to a first RAT, e.g.,LTE, and may be in communication with a dedicated receive chain and atransmit chain shared with an additional radio, e.g., a second radiothat may be dedicated to a second RAT, e.g., 5G NR, and may be incommunication with a dedicated receive chain and the shared transmitchain.

The communication device 106 may also include and/or be configured foruse with one or more user interface elements. The user interfaceelements may include any of various elements, such as display 360 (whichmay be a touchscreen display), a keyboard (which may be a discretekeyboard or may be implemented as part of a touchscreen display), amouse, a microphone and/or speakers, one or more cameras, one or morebuttons, and/or any of various other elements capable of providinginformation to a user and/or receiving or interpreting user input.

The communication device 106 may further include one or more smart cards345 that include SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such asone or more UICC(s) (Universal Integrated Circuit Card(s)) cards 345.

As shown, the SOC 300 may include processor(s) 302, which may executeprogram instructions for the communication device 106 and displaycircuitry 304, which may perform graphics processing and provide displaysignals to the display 360. The processor(s) 302 may also be coupled tomemory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receiveaddresses from the processor(s) 302 and translate those addresses tolocations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read only memory (ROM) 350, NANDflash memory 310) and/or to other circuits or devices, such as thedisplay circuitry 304, short range wireless communication circuitry 229,cellular communication circuitry 330, connector I/F 320, and/or display360. The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and pagetable translation or set up. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may beincluded as a portion of the processor(s) 302.

As noted above, the communication device 106 may be configured tocommunicate using wireless and/or wired communication circuitry. Thecommunication device 106 may be configured to perform a method includingthe communication device 106 exchanging communications with a basestation to determine one or more scheduling-power profiles. In someembodiments, the communications with the base station to determine theone or more scheduling-power profiles may include exchange of one ormore radio resource control (RRC) signal messages. In some embodiments,the one or more scheduling-power profiles may not conflict with oneanother. In some embodiments, a scheduling-power profile may specify oneor more parameters associated with communication device 106communication behavior, e.g., one or more constraints on communicationdevice 106 communication behavior and/or slot scheduling ofcommunication device 106 communications. In addition, the method mayinclude the communication device 106 receiving a slot configurationschedule from the base station. The slot configuration schedule may bebased on at least one scheduling-power profile of the one or morescheduling-power profiles. Further, the method may include thecommunication device 106 performing communications with the base stationbased on the at least one scheduling-power profile.

As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardwareand software components for implementing the above features for acommunication device 106 to communicate a scheduling-power profile forpower savings to a network. The processor 302 of the communicationdevice 106 may be configured to implement part or all of the featuresdescribed herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on amemory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium).Alternatively (or in addition), processor 302 may be configured as aprogrammable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable GateArray), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).Alternatively (or in addition) the processor 302 of the communicationdevice 106, in conjunction with one or more of the other components 300,304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360 may be configured toimplement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processor 302 may include one or moreprocessing elements. Thus, processor 302 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof processor 302. In addition, each integrated circuit may includecircuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured toperform the functions of processor(s) 302.

Further, as described herein, cellular communication circuitry 330 andshort-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may each include one ormore processing elements. In other words, one or more processingelements may be included in cellular communication circuitry 330 and,similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in shortrange wireless communication circuitry 329. Thus, cellular communicationcircuitry 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that areconfigured to perform the functions of cellular communication circuitry330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g.,first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform thefunctions of cellular communication circuitry 230. Similarly, theshort-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may include one or moreICs that are configured to perform the functions of short-range wirelesscommunication circuitry 32. In addition, each integrated circuit mayinclude circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.)configured to perform the functions of short-range wirelesscommunication circuitry 329.

FIG. 4—Block Diagram of a Base Station

FIG. 4 illustrates an example block diagram of a base station 102,according to some embodiments. It is noted that the base station of FIG.4 is merely one example of a possible base station. As shown, the basestation 102 may include processor(s) 404 which may execute programinstructions for the base station 102. The processor(s) 404 may also becoupled to memory management unit (MMU) 440, which may be configured toreceive addresses from the processor(s) 404 and translate thoseaddresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read only memory(ROM) 450) or to other circuits or devices.

The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Thenetwork port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network andprovide a plurality of devices, such as UE devices 106, access to thetelephone network as described above in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also oralternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, e.g., acore network of a cellular service provider. The core network mayprovide mobility related services and/or other services to a pluralityof devices, such as UE devices 106. In some cases, the network port 470may couple to a telephone network via the core network, and/or the corenetwork may provide a telephone network (e.g., among other UE devicesserviced by the cellular service provider).

In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation basestation, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB”. In suchembodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolvedpacket core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC) network. Inaddition, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and mayinclude one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition,a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one ormore TRPs within one or more gNB s.

The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434, and possiblymultiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured tooperate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured tocommunicate with UE devices 106 via radio 430. The antenna 434communicates with the radio 430 via communication chain 432.Communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain orboth. The radio 430 may be configured to communicate via variouswireless communication standards, including, but not limited to, 5G NR,LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

The base station 102 may be configured to communicate wirelessly usingmultiple wireless communication standards. In some instances, the basestation 102 may include multiple radios, which may enable the basestation 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communicationtechnologies. For example, as one possibility, the base station 102 mayinclude an LTE radio for performing communication according to LTE aswell as a 5G NR radio for performing communication according to 5G NR.In such a case, the base station 102 may be capable of operating as bothan LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility,the base station 102 may include a multi-mode radio which is capable ofperforming communications according to any of multiple wirelesscommunication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTEand UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

As described further subsequently herein, the BS 102 may includehardware and software components for implementing or supportingimplementation of features described herein. The processor 404 of thebase station 102 may be configured to implement or supportimplementation of part or all of the methods described herein, e.g., byexecuting program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., anon-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, theprocessor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, suchas an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively(or in addition) the processor 404 of the BS 102, in conjunction withone or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or allof the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processor(s) 404 may be comprised ofone or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processingelements may be included in processor(s) 404. Thus, processor(s) 404 mayinclude one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured toperform the functions of processor(s) 404. In addition, each integratedcircuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry,etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor(s) 404.

Further, as described herein, radio 430 may be comprised of one or moreprocessing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements maybe included in radio 430. Thus, radio 430 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof radio 430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry(e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to performthe functions of radio 430.

FIG. 5: Block Diagram of Cellular Communication Circuitry

FIG. 5 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of cellularcommunication circuitry, according to some embodiments. It is noted thatthe block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of FIG. 5 isonly one example of a possible cellular communication circuit. Accordingto embodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may be include in acommunication device, such as communication device 106 described above.As noted above, communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE)device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wirelessstation, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computingdevice (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), atablet and/or a combination of devices, among other devices.

The cellular communication circuitry 330 may couple (e.g.,communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, suchas antennas 335 a-b and 336 as shown (in FIG. 3). In some embodiments,cellular communication circuitry 330 may include dedicated receivechains (including and/or coupled to, e.g., communicatively; directly orindirectly. dedicated processors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g.,a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). Forexample, as shown in FIG. 5, cellular communication circuitry 330 mayinclude a modem 510 and a modem 520. Modem 510 may be configured forcommunications according to a first RAT, e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A, andmodem 520 may be configured for communications according to a secondRAT, e.g., such as 5G NR.

As shown, modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory516 in communication with processors 512. Modem 510 may be incommunication with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. RF front end530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals.For example, RF front end 530 may include receive circuitry (RX) 532 andtransmit circuitry (TX) 534. In some embodiments, receive circuitry 532may be in communication with downlink (DL) front end 550, which mayinclude circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna 335 a.

Similarly, modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory526 in communication with processors 522. Modem 520 may be incommunication with an RF front end 540. RF front end 540 may includecircuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RFfront end 540 may include receive circuitry 542 and transmit circuitry544. In some embodiments, receive circuitry 542 may be in communicationwith DL front end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving radiosignals via antenna 335 b.

In some embodiments, a switch 570 may couple transmit circuitry 534 touplink (UL) front end 572. In addition, switch 570 may couple transmitcircuitry 544 to UL front end 572. UL front end 572 may includecircuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna 336. Thus, whencellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmitaccording to the first RAT (e.g., as supported via modem 510), switch570 may be switched to a first state that allows modem 510 to transmitsignals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain thatincludes transmit circuitry 534 and UL front end 572). Similarly, whencellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmitaccording to the second RAT (e.g., as supported via modem 520), switch570 may be switched to a second state that allows modem 520 to transmitsignals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain thatincludes transmit circuitry 544 and UL front end 572).

In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may beconfigured to perform a method including exchanging communications witha base station to determine one or more scheduling-power profiles. Insome embodiments, the communications with the base station to determinethe one or more scheduling-power profiles may include exchange of one ormore radio resource control (RRC) signal messages. In some embodiments,the one or more scheduling-power profiles may not conflict with oneanother. In some embodiments, a scheduling-power profile may specify oneor more parameters associated with UE communication behavior, e.g., oneor more constraints on UE communication behavior and/or slot schedulingof UE communications. In addition, the method may include receiving aslot configuration schedule from the base station. The slotconfiguration schedule may be based on at least one scheduling-powerprofile of the one or more scheduling-power profiles. Further, themethod may include performing communications with the base station basedon the at least one scheduling-power profile.

As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware and softwarecomponents for implementing the above features or for time divisionmultiplexing UL data for NSA NR operations, as well as the various othertechniques described herein. The processors 512 may be configured toimplement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., byexecuting program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., anon-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or inaddition), processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardwareelement, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC(Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or inaddition) the processor 512, in conjunction with one or more of theother components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335 and 336 may beconfigured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processors 512 may include one or moreprocessing elements. Thus, processors 512 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof processors 512. In addition, each integrated circuit may includecircuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured toperform the functions of processors 512.

As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and softwarecomponents for implementing the above features for communicating ascheduling-power profile for power savings to a network, as well as thevarious other techniques described herein. The processors 522 may beconfigured to implement part or all of the features described herein,e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g.,a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or inaddition), processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardwareelement, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC(Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or inaddition) the processor 522, in conjunction with one or more of theother components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335 and 336 may beconfigured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processors 522 may include one or moreprocessing elements. Thus, processors 522 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof processors 522. In addition, each integrated circuit may includecircuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured toperform the functions of processors 522.

5G NR Architecture with LTE

In some implementations, fifth generation (5G) wireless communicationwill initially be deployed concurrently with current wirelesscommunication standards (e.g., LTE). For example, dual connectivitybetween LTE and 5G new radio (5G NR or NR) has been specified as part ofthe initial deployment of NR. Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A-B,evolved packet core (EPC) network 600 may continue to communicate withcurrent LTE base stations (e.g., eNB 602). In addition, eNB 602 may bein communication with a 5G NR base station (e.g., gNB 604) and may passdata between the EPC network 600 and gNB 604. Thus, EPC network 600 maybe used (or reused) and gNB 604 may serve as extra capacity for UEs,e.g., for providing increased downlink throughput to UEs. In otherwords, LTE may be used for control plane signaling and NR may be usedfor user plane signaling. Thus, LTE may be used to establish connectionsto the network and NR may be used for data services.

FIG. 6B illustrates a proposed protocol stack for eNB 602 and gNB 604.As shown, eNB 602 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer 632that interfaces with radio link control (RLC) layers 622 a-b. RLC layer622 a may also interface with packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)layer 612 a and RLC layer 622 b may interface with PDCP layer 612 b.Similar to dual connectivity as specified in LTE-Advanced Release 12,PDCP layer 612 a may interface via a master cell group (MCG) bearer toEPC network 600 whereas PDCP layer 612 b may interface via a splitbearer with EPC network 600.

Additionally, as shown, gNB 604 may include a MAC layer 634 thatinterfaces with RLC layers 624 a-b. RLC layer 624 a may interface withPDCP layer 612 b of eNB 602 via an X2 interface for information exchangeand/or coordination (e.g., scheduling of a UE) between eNB 602 and gNB604. In addition, RLC layer 624 b may interface with PDCP layer 614.Similar to dual connectivity as specified in LTE-Advanced Release 12,PDCP layer 614 may interface with EPC network 600 via a secondary cellgroup (SCG) bearer. Thus, eNB 602 may be considered a master node (MeNB)while gNB 604 may be considered a secondary node (SgNB). In somescenarios, a UE may be required to maintain a connection to both an MeNBand a SgNB. In such scenarios, the MeNB may be used to maintain a radioresource control (RRC) connection to an EPC while the SgNB may be usedfor capacity (e.g., additional downlink and/or uplink throughput).

5G Core Network Architecture—Interworking with Wi-Fi

In some embodiments, the 5G core network (CN) may be accessed via (orthrough) a cellular connection/interface (e.g., via a 3GPP communicationarchitecture/protocol) and a non-cellular connection/interface (e.g., anon-3GPP access architecture/protocol such as Wi-Fi connection). FIG. 7Aillustrates an example of a 5G network architecture that incorporatesboth 3GPP (e.g., cellular) and non-3GPP (e.g., non-cellular) access tothe 5G CN, according to some embodiments. As shown, a user equipmentdevice (e.g., such as UE 106) may access the 5G CN through both a radioaccess network (RAN, e.g., such as gNB or base station 604) and anaccess point, such as AP 112. The AP 112 may include a connection to theInternet 700 as well as a connection to a non-3GPP inter-workingfunction (N3IWF) 702 network entity. The N3IWF may include a connectionto a core access and mobility management function (AMF) 704 of the 5GCN. The AMF 704 may include an instance of a 5G mobility management (5GMM) function associated with the UE 106. In addition, the RAN (e.g., gNB604) may also have a connection to the AMF 704. Thus, the 5G CN maysupport unified authentication over both connections as well as allowsimultaneous registration for UE 106 access via both gNB 604 and AP 112.As shown, the AMF 704 may include one or more functional entitiesassociated with the 5G CN (e.g., network slice selection function (NSSF)720, short message service function (SMSF) 722, application function(AF) 724, unified data management (UDM) 726, policy control function(PCF) 728, and/or authentication server function (AUSF) 730). Note thatthese functional entities may also be supported by a session managementfunction (SMF) 706 a and an SMF 706 b of the 5G CN. The AMF 706 may beconnected to (or in communication with) the SMF 706 a. Further, the gNB604 may in communication with (or connected to) a user plane function(UPF) 708 a that may also be communication with the SMF 706 a.Similarly, the N3IWF 702 may be communicating with a UPF 708 b that mayalso be communicating with the SMF 706 b. Both UPFs may be communicatingwith the data network (e.g., DN 710 a and 710 b) and/or the Internet 700and IMS core network 710.

FIG. 7B illustrates an example of a 5G network architecture thatincorporates both dual 3GPP (e.g., LTE and 5G NR) access and non-3GPPaccess to the 5G CN, according to some embodiments. As shown, a userequipment device (e.g., such as UE 106) may access the 5G CN throughboth a radio access network (RAN, e.g., such as gNB or base station 604or eNB or base station 602) and an access point, such as AP 112. The AP112 may include a connection to the Internet 700 as well as a connectionto the N3IWF 702 network entity. The N3IWF may include a connection tothe AMF 704 of the 5G CN. The AMF 704 may include an instance of the 5GMM function associated with the UE 106. In addition, the RAN (e.g., gNB604) may also have a connection to the AMF 704. Thus, the 5G CN maysupport unified authentication over both connections as well as allowsimultaneous registration for UE 106 access via both gNB 604 and AP 112.In addition, the 5G CN may support dual-registration of the UE on both alegacy network (e.g., LTE via base station 602) and a 5G network (e.g.,via base station 604). As shown, the base station 602 may haveconnections to a mobility management entity (MME) 742 and a servinggateway (SGW) 744. The MME 742 may have connections to both the SGW 744and the AMF 704. In addition, the SGW 744 may have connections to boththe SMF 706 a and the UPF 708 a. As shown, the AMF 704 may include oneor more functional entities associated with the 5G CN (e.g., NSSF 720,SMSF 722, AF 724, UDM 726, PCF 728, and/or AUSF 730). Note that UDM 726may also include a home subscriber server (HSS) function and the PCF mayalso include a policy and charging rules function (PCRF). Note furtherthat these functional entities may also be supported by the SMF706 a andthe SMF 706 b of the 5G CN. The AMF 706 may be connected to (or incommunication with) the SMF 706 a. Further, the gNB 604 may incommunication with (or connected to) the UPF 708 a that may also becommunication with the SMF 706 a. Similarly, the N3IWF 702 may becommunicating with a UPF 708 b that may also be communicating with theSMF 706 b. Both UPFs may be communicating with the data network (e.g.,DN 710 a and 710 b) and/or the Internet 700 and IMS core network 710.

Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above describednetwork entities may be configured to perform methods to schedule a UEbased on a scheduling-power profile that may specify one or moreparameters associated with UE communication behavior, e.g., one or moreconstraints on UE communication behavior and/or slot scheduling of UEcommunications, e.g., as further described herein.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a baseband processor architecture for aUE (e.g., such as UE 106), according to some embodiments. The basebandprocessor architecture 800 described in FIG. 8 may be implemented on oneor more radios (e.g., radios 329 and/or 330 described above) or modems(e.g., modems 510 and/or 520) as described above. As shown, thenon-access stratum (NAS) 810 may include a 5G NAS 820 and a legacy NAS850. The legacy NAS 850 may include a communication connection with alegacy access stratum (AS) 870. The 5G NAS 820 may include communicationconnections with both a 5G AS 840 and a non-3GPP AS 830 and Wi-Fi AS832. The 5G NAS 820 may include functional entities associated with bothaccess stratums. Thus, the 5G NAS 820 may include multiple 5G MMentities 826 and 828 and 5G session management (SM) entities 822 and824. The legacy NAS 850 may include functional entities such as shortmessage service (SMS) entity 852, evolved packet system (EPS) sessionmanagement (ESM) entity 854, session management (SM) entity 856, EPSmobility management (EMM) entity 858, and mobility management (MM)/GPRSmobility management (GMM) entity 860. In addition, the legacy AS 870 mayinclude functional entities such as LTE AS 872, UMTS AS 874, and/orGSM/GPRS AS 876.

Thus, the baseband processor architecture 800 allows for a common 5G-NASfor both 5G cellular and non-cellular (e.g., non-3GPP access). Note thatas shown, the 5G MM may maintain individual connection management andregistration management state machines for each connection.Additionally, a device (e.g., UE 106) may register to a single PLMN(e.g., 5G CN) using 5G cellular access as well as non-cellular access.Further, it may be possible for the device to be in a connected state inone access and an idle state in another access and vice versa. Finally,there may be common 5G-MM procedures (e.g., registration,de-registration, identification, authentication, as so forth) for bothaccesses.

Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above describedelements may be configured to perform methods schedule a UE based on ascheduling-power profile that may specify one or more parametersassociated with UE communication behavior, e.g., one or more constraintson UE communication behavior and/or slot scheduling of UEcommunications, e.g., as further described herein.

UE Scheduling-Power Profile

In current implementations of the 5G New Radio (5G NR) standard, a UEmay be configured to monitor the Physical Downlink Control Channel(PDCCH) periodically, e.g., as illustrated by FIG. 9A. As shown, the UEmay monitor the PDCCH every fifth slot 902 and, if the UE does not haveany pending data, the UE may go into a low power mode to reduce powerconsumption when not monitoring the PDCCH in slots 904. In someimplementations, a search space configuration may be enabled to allowthe UE to monitor the PDCCH periodically. The power consumption of theUE during periodic monitoring of the PDCCH is illustrated by FIG. 9B. Asshown, when no monitoring the PDCCH, the UE may have a very low powerconsumption; however, the power consumption may ramp up ahead of themonitoring period (e.g., power ramp 910), may remain at maximum powerconsumption for a period of time before, during, and after themonitoring period (e.g., maximum power level 912), and then may rampdown after the monitoring period is complete (e.g., power ramp 914). Forexample, when the UE receives data in a slot N (e.g., slot 906 of FIG.9A), the UE will wake up prior to (before) slot N to prepare forreception of the data. During the wake up, the UE may consume power(e.g., power ramp 910) to prepare (or reinitialize/start) its clock, setits voltage configuration, warm up the UE's radio frequency integratedcircuit (RFIC), phase lock loop (PLL) lock, and so forth. Afterreceiving the data in slot N, a modem of the UE may perform decoding anda series of actions for signal decoding and shutting down elements ofthe UE to reduce power consumption. For example, the UE modem may shutdown the RFIC, perform automatic gain control (AGC), update timetracking loops (TTL) and/or frequency tracking loops (FTL), performchannel estimation, and/or perform data decoding. As another example,when the UE transmits data in a slot N (e.g., slot 906 of FIG. 9A), theUE will wake up prior to (before) slot N to prepare for transmission ofthe data. During the wake up, similar to when the UE is preparing toreceive data, the UE may consume power (e.g., power ramp 910) to prepare(or reinitialize/start) its clock, warm up the UE's RFIC, phase lockloop (PLL) lock, encode the data, and so forth. After slot N, the UE mayconsume power (e.g., power ramp 914) shutting down the RFIC. Thus,turning components on and off for receiving and/or sending data consumespower (especially RFIC ramp up and ramp down).

Embodiments described herein disclose systems and methods for reducingpower consumption during wakeup and shut down associated with periodicmonitoring of the PDCCH. For example, in some embodiments, the UE maynotify a base station (e.g., a gNB) of a scheduling constraint via ascheduling profile, such as a scheduling-power profile. For example,FIGS. 10D, 11D, 12D, and 13D illustrate power savings for varioustransmit and/or receive scenarios. In some embodiments, the UE maytransmit an acknowledgement, transmit data on the PUSCH, and/or transmitother various data and/or control information. In some embodiments, theUE may receive data on the PDCCH and/or on the PDSCH.

FIG. 10D illustrates power savings across two transmissions as comparedto current implementations as illustrated by FIGS. 10A-10C, according tosome embodiments. In particular, FIGS. 10A-10C illustrate the powerconsumed for a first transmission (FIG. 10A), the power consumed for asecond transmission (FIG. 10B), and the total power consumed across thetwo transmissions (FIG. 10C). As shown, for each transmission, the UEconsumes power to prepare for the transmission, perform thetransmission, and then power down after the transmission. However,according to some embodiments and as illustrated by FIG. 10D, when theUE can schedule the transmissions back to back, the UE may avoid thepower consumed powering down after the first transmission and poweringback up for the second transmission, thereby saving additional power ascompared to current implementations.

FIG. 11D illustrates power savings across two receptions as compared tocurrent implementations as illustrated by FIGS. 11A-11C, according tosome embodiments. In particular, FIGS. 11A-11C illustrate the powerconsumed for a first reception (FIG. 11A), the power consumed for asecond reception (FIG. 11B), and the total power consumed across the tworeceptions (FIG. 11C). As shown, for each reception, the UE consumespower to prepare for the reception, perform the reception, and thenpower down after the reception. However, according to some embodimentsand as illustrated by FIG. 11D, when the UE can schedule the receptionsback to back, the UE may avoid the power consumed powering down afterthe first reception and powering back up for the second reception,thereby saving additional power as compared to current implementations.

FIG. 12D illustrates power savings across a transmission followed by areception as compared to current implementations as illustrated by FIGS.12A-12C, according to some embodiments. In particular, FIGS. 12A-12Cillustrate the power consumed for a transmission (FIG. 12A), the powerconsumed for a reception (FIG. 12B), and the total power consumed acrossthe transmission and reception (FIG. 12C). As shown, for both thetransmission and the reception, the UE consumes power to prepare for thetransmission/reception, perform the transmission/reception, and thenpower down after the transmission/reception. However, according to someembodiments and as illustrated by FIG. 12D, when the UE can schedule thetransmission and reception back to back, the UE may avoid the powerconsumed powering down after the transmission and powering back up forthe reception, thereby saving additional power as compared to currentimplementations.

FIG. 13D illustrates power savings across a reception followed by atransmission as compared to current implementations as illustrated byFIGS. 13A-13C, according to some embodiments. In particular, FIGS.13A-13C illustrate the power consumed for a reception (FIG. 13A), thepower consumed for a transmission (FIG. 13B), and the total powerconsumed across the reception and transmission (FIG. 13C). As shown, forboth the transmission and the reception, the UE consumes power toprepare for the transmission/reception, perform thetransmission/reception, and then power down after thetransmission/reception. However, according to some embodiments and asillustrated by FIG. 13D, when the UE can schedule the reception andtransmission back to back, the UE may avoid the power consumed poweringdown after the reception and powering back up for the transmission,thereby saving additional power as compared to current implementations.

FIG. 14 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a process fordetermining a scheduling profile for a UE, according to someembodiments. The process shown in FIG. 14 may be used in conjunctionwith any of the systems or devices shown in the above Figures, amongother devices. In various embodiments, some of the process elementsshown may be performed concurrently, in a different order than shown, ormay be omitted. Additional process elements may also be performed asdesired. As shown, this process may operate as follows.

At 1402, a UE, such as UE 106, may propose one or more schedulingprofiles, such as one or more scheduling-power profiles, to a basestation, such as base station 102 (which may be configured as a gNB,such as gNB 604). Note that if the UE proposes more than onescheduling-power profile, the scheduling-power profiles may not conflictwith one another. In some embodiments, the proposal may be communicatedvia radio resource control (RRC) signaling message. In some embodiments,a scheduling-power profile may include one or more (or a set of)parameters and/or constraints for system configuration. The parameters(or constraints) may limit network scheduling to a particularconfiguration. In some embodiments, a scheduling-power profile mayinclude a set of other scheduling-power profiles. In some embodiments,as illustrated by FIG. 15, a scheduling-power profile may specify aparticular UE behavior, or sets of behaviors. For example, as shown byFIG. 15, a profile P1 may specify a profile for delayed acknowledgement(ACK) with PDCCH monitoring. As another example, a profile P2 mayspecify a profile for delayed PUSCH scheduling with PDCCH monitoring. Asfurther example, a profile P3 may specify a profile for cross-slotscheduling with PDCCH monitoring; a profile P4 may specify a profile forlarge bandwidth part (BWP) for large data packet scheduling; a profileP5 may specify a profile for self-contained slot scheduling; a profileP10 may specify a profile for power savings, e.g., a set of profilesincluding any, some, or all of profiles P1, P2, and/or P3; a profile P11may specify a profile for high throughput, e.g., a set of profilesincluding any, some, or all of profiles P1 and/or P4; a profile P14 mayspecify a profile for low latency, e.g., a set of profiles including atleast profile P5; a profile P15 may specify a profile for high systemcapacity; a profile P14 may specify a profile for small data traffic,e.g., voice data and or SMS data; a profile P20 may specify a profilefor PDCCH monitoring period.

In some embodiments, a scheduling-power profile may include one or moreparameters to specify the profile. For example, the parameters mayinclude a set of values for search space monitoring periodicity. Asanother example, the parameters may include a set of configurable valuesand/or constraints for K0, where K0 defines a number of slots (e.g.,from 0 to n) between a slot scheduled for the PDCCH and a slot scheduledfor PDSCH. As a further example, the parameters may include a set ofconfigurable values and/or constraints for K1, where K1 defines a numberof slots (e.g., from 0 to n) between a slot scheduled for the PDSCH anda slot scheduled for an acknowledgment. As yet another example, theparameters may include a set of configurable values and/or constraintsfor K2, where K2 defines a number of slots (e.g., from 0 to n) between aslot scheduled for the PDCCH and a slot scheduled for the PUSCH. Inaddition, the parameters may include minimum and/or maximum bandwidthvalues and/or constraints in BWPs, a set of supported number ofmultiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) layers, search space indices,control resource set (CORESET) indices, BWP indices, secondary cell(Scell) indices, maximum number of Scells, DRX configurations, and soforth. Note that in some embodiments, differing profiles may includediffering parameters and/or constraints. In other words, a first profilemay include a first combination of the above discussed parameters, amongother parameters and a second profile may include a second combinationof the above discussed parameters.

FIG. 16 illustrates example parameter sets for various profiles,according to some embodiments. As shown, a profile P1 may includevarious parameters for supporting delayed ACK with following PDCCHmonitoring, such as a first parameter, p, where p specifies search spacemonitoring periodicity, and a second parameter defining a relationshipbetween K0, K1, and p. In addition, a profile P2 may include variousparameters for supporting delayed PUSCH with following PDCCH monitoring,such as a first parameter, p, where p specifies search space monitoringperiodicity, and a second parameter defining a relationship between K2and p. Further, a profile P3 may include various parameters forsupporting delayed cross-slot scheduling with following PDCCHmonitoring, such as a first parameter, p, where p specifies search spacemonitoring periodicity, and a second parameter defining a relationshipbetween K0, and p, and a third parameter specifying a value of K1.Additionally, a profile P4 may include various parameters for supportinga low traffic rate, such as supported BWPs, supported search spaceindices, supported MIMO layers, supported values of K0, K1, and K2,supported Scell indices, supported number of S cells, and so forth.

Returning to FIG. 14, at 1404, the base station may determine whether toaccept the scheduling proposal (e.g., the one or more scheduling-powerprofiles proposed by the UE at 1402). The determination may be based, atleast in part, on network scheduling constraints such as whether thebase station has pending data for the UE, whether the base station haspreviously accepted scheduling proposals (from the UE and/or from otherUEs served by the base station) that conflict with the UE's proposal,channel conditions, and so forth. If the base station accepts thescheduling proposal the process may continue at 1410. Alternatively, ifthe base station does not accept the scheduling proposal, the processmay continue at 1406.

At 1406, if the base station determines to not accept the schedulingproposal, the base station may communicate a counter proposal to the UE.In response, at 1408, the base station and UE may negotiate (e.g., viaan exchange of one or more additional proposals) to determine ascheduling-power profile (or scheduling-power profiles) for UEcommunications. Note that the UE and the base station may agree on morethan one scheduling-power profile so long as the multiple profiles donot conflict with one another. In other words, in some embodiments, thebase station (network) may configure the UE with multiple profiles. Insome embodiments, one or more scheduling-power profiles may be active,where an active profile may be a profile currently being used betweenthe base station and the UE.

At 1410, the UE and base station may communicate based on at least oneof the agreed upon scheduling-power profiles (e.g., active profiles).For example, if a first profile specifies UE behavior when transmittingan acknowledgment (ACK) while performing PDCCH monitoring, the basestation may schedule the ACK in a slot consecutive to the PDCCHmonitoring based on a search space monitoring periodicity included inthe first profile, e.g., as further described below in reference to FIG.17. Similarly, if a second profile specifies UE behavior whentransmitting on the PUSCH while performing PDCCH monitoring, the basestation may schedule the PUSCH transmission in a slot consecutive to thePDCCH monitoring based on a search space monitoring periodicity includedin the second profile, e.g., as further described below in reference toFIG. 18. Further, if a third profile specifies UE behavior forcross-slot scheduling while performing PDCCH monitoring, the basestation may schedule the UE transmissions and receptions based onparameters included in a third profile, e.g., as further described belowin reference to FIG. 19. Further, if a fourth profile specifies aself-contained slot, the base station may schedule the UE transmissionsand receptions based on parameters included in a fourth profile, e.g.,as further described below in reference to FIG. 20.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a delayed acknowledgement withfollowing PDCCH monitoring, according to some embodiments. For example,if a UE, such as UE 106, is supposed to transmit an acknowledgement(ACK) in uplink (UL) and monitor PDCCH in similar timing, then thenetwork (e.g., base station 102, gNB 604) may schedule (e.g., based inpart on an agreed upon scheduling-power profile) the ACK transmission1708 just before scheduled PDCCH monitoring 1702 occurs such that UEtransmit and UE receive may occur in consecutive (e.g., back-to-back)time slots. Such a scheduling scheme may allow the UE to save power byavoiding a ramp down (e.g., after transmitting the ACK) and a ramp up(e.g., before scheduled PDCCH monitoring 1702). As shown in FIG. 17, theUE may be configured to monitor the PDCCH every 5 time slots, thus, ifthe UE receives PDSCH in slot n (e.g., scheduling the PDSCH to the UE at1706), the UE would typically transmit a corresponding ACK in slot n+1.However, in some embodiments, a scheduling-power profile may delay thecorresponding ACK until slot n+4, as shown, thereby allowing the UE tosave power by avoiding an RFIC ramp down and an RFIC ramp up. Note thatthe UE may not monitor the PDCCH at slots 1704. Note further that thescheduling-power profile may be determined based, at least in part, on acommunication configuration condition and/or a UE constraint. Thus,according to the example of FIG. 17, the communication configurationcondition may include that the UE is configured with at least a PDCCHmonitoring period of p, where p defines a number of time slots betweenPDCCH monitoring and p is greater than 1. The UE constraint may beback-to-back (or consecutive) or very close (e.g., one slot gap) ACK andPDCCH monitoring. In other words, when the UE is configured to monitorPDCCH in slot n, an ACK for a PDSCH may be scheduled one time slot aheadof the PDCCH monitoring, e.g., time slot n−1, such that the transmission(ACK) and reception (PDCCH monitoring) may occur without an RFIC rampdown and an RFIC ramp up in between. Hence, if such a scheduling-powerprofile is enabled (e.g., an RRC parameter PS_ACK_Schedule is set to“true” or “1”), then the network may make scheduling decisions (e.g.,such as ACK transmission timing) to satisfy the UE constraint.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a delayed PUSCH with following PDCCHmonitoring, according to some embodiments. For example, if a UE, such asUE 106, is supposed to transmit PUSCH while performing PDCCH monitoring,then the network (e.g., base station 102, gNB 604) may schedule (e.g.,based in part on an agreed upon scheduling-power profile) the PUSCH 1808to be transmitted in a time slot immediately preceding a scheduled PDCCHmonitoring time slot 1802 such that the UE may transmit and receive inconsecutive (back to back) time slots. Such a scheduling scheme mayallow the UE to save power by avoiding a ramp down (e.g., aftertransmitting on the PUSCH) and a ramp up (e.g., before scheduled PDCCHmonitoring). As shown in FIG. 18, the UE may be configured to monitorthe PDCCH every 5 time slots, thus, if the UE is scheduled to transmitPUSCH in slot n+4 and monitor PDCCH in the next slot (e.g., in slotn+5), then the UE may save power by avoiding an RFIC ramp down and anRFIC ramp up. Note that the UE may not monitor the PDCCH at slots 1804.Note further that the scheduling-power profile may be determined based,at least in part, on a communication configuration condition and/or a UEconstraint. Thus, according to the example of FIG. 18, the communicationconfiguration condition may include that the UE is configured with atleast a PDCCH monitoring period of p, where p defines a number of timeslots between PDCCH monitoring andp is greater than 1. The UE constraintmay be back-to-back (or consecutive) PUSCH transmission and PDCCHmonitoring. In other words, when the UE is configured to monitor PDCCHin slot n, a PUSCH transmission may be scheduled one time slot ahead ofthe PDCCH monitoring, e.g., time slot n−1, such that the transmission(PUSCH) and reception (PDCCH monitoring) may occur without an RFIC rampdown and an RFIC ramp up in between. Hence, if such a scheduling-powerprofile is enabled (e.g., an RRC parameter PS_PUSCH_Schedule is set to“true” or “1”), then the network may make scheduling decisions (e.g.,such as PUSCH transmission timing) to satisfy the UE constraint.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of delayed cross-slot scheduling withfollowing PDCCH monitoring, according to some embodiments. For example,if a UE, such as UE 106, is supposed to receive on the PDSCH whileperforming PDCCH monitoring 1902, then the network (e.g., base station102, gNB 604) may schedule (e.g., based in part on an agreed uponscheduling-power profile) the PDSCH reception 1906 and an ACKtransmission 1908 in a time slot immediately preceding a scheduled PDCCHmonitoring time slot 1902 such that the UE may transmit and receive inconsecutive (back to back) time slots. Such a scheduling scheme mayallow the UE to save power by avoiding a ramp down (e.g., aftertransmitting on the PUSCH) and a ramp up (e.g., before scheduled PDCCHmonitoring). Note that the UE may not monitor the PDCCH at slots 1904.Note further that when the UE receives on the PDCCH only, the UE may usea narrow band (NB), however, if the UE also receives on the PDSCH, theUE may open up its radio frequency bandwidth to a wider bandwidth (WB)to receive data on the PDSCH. Thus, to take advantage of bandwidthadaptation with transmit-receive alignment, PDSCH and ACK may bescheduled in a time slot immediately preceding scheduled PDCCHmonitoring. As shown in FIG. 19, the UE may be configured to monitor thePDCCH every 3 time slots, thus, if the UE is scheduled to receive on thePDSCH in slot n+2 and an ACK of the PDCCH monitoring is delayed to slotn+2, then the UE may monitor PDCCH in the next slot (e.g., in slot n+3),thereby allowing the UE to save power by avoiding an RFIC ramp down andan RFIC ramp up while also taking advantage of bandwidth adaptation.Note that the scheduling-power profile may be determined based, at leastin part, on a communication configuration condition and/or a UEconstraint. Thus, according to the example of FIG. 19, the communicationconfiguration condition may include that the UE is configured with atleast a PDCCH monitoring period of p, where p defines a number of timeslots between PDCCH monitoring and p is greater than 1, and cross-slotscheduling may be enabled. The UE constraint may be K0 greater than 0(which may allow the UE to monitor PDCCH with narrow BWP and receivePDSCH with wide BWP) and K1=0 (which may ensure PDSCH reception and ACKtransmission occur in a common (same) time slot), where K0 defines anumber of slots (e.g., from 0 to n) between a slot scheduled for thePDCCH and a slot scheduled for PDSCH and K1 defines a number of slots(e.g., from 0 to n) between a slot scheduled for the PDSCH and a slotscheduled for an acknowledgment. In other words, when the UE isconfigured to monitor PDCCH in slot n, a PDSCH reception and ACKtransmission may be scheduled one time slot ahead of the PDCCHmonitoring, e.g., time slot n−1, such that the reception(PDSCH)/transmission (ACK) and reception (PDCCH monitoring) may occurwithout an RFIC ramp down and an RFIC ramp up in between. Hence, if sucha scheduling-power profile is enabled (e.g., an RRC parameterPS_K1_equal_0 is set to “true” or “1”), then the network may makescheduling decisions (e.g., such as ACK transmission timing and PDSCHreception) to satisfy the UE constraint.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of self-contained slot scheduling withfollowing PDCCH monitoring, according to some embodiments. For example,if a UE, such as UE 106, is supposed to receive on the PDSCH whileperforming PDCCH monitoring 2002, then the network (e.g., base station102, gNB 604) may schedule (e.g., based in part on an agreed uponscheduling-power profile) the PDSCH reception 2006 and an ACKtransmission 2008 in a time slot with a scheduled PDCCH monitoring timeslot 2002 such that the UE may transmit and receive in a single timeslot. Such a scheduling scheme may allow the UE to save power byavoiding a ramp down (e.g., after receiving on the PDCCH and afterreceiving PDSCH) and a ramp up (e.g., before receiving scheduled PDSCHand before sending ACK). As shown in FIG. 20, the UE may be configuredto monitor the PDCCH every 3 time slots, thus, if the UE is scheduled toreceive on the PDSCH in slot n, then an ACK of the PDSCH are alsoscheduled in slot n. Such a scheme may allow the UE to save power byavoiding an RFIC ramp down and an RFIC ramp up. Note that the UE may notmonitor the PDCCH at slots 2004. Note further that the scheduling-powerprofile may be determined based, at least in part, on a communicationconfiguration condition and/or a UE constraint. Thus, according to theexample of FIG. 20, the communication configuration condition mayinclude that the UE is configured with at least a PDCCH monitoringperiod of p, where p defines a number of time slots between PDCCHmonitoring and p is greater than 1, and same slot scheduling may beenabled. The UE constraint may be K0=0 (which may allow the UE tomonitor PDCCH with narrow BWP and receive PDSCH with wide BWP) and K1=0(which may ensure PDSCH reception and ACK transmission occur in a common(same) time slot), where K0 defines a number of slots (e.g., from 0 ton) between a slot scheduled for the PDCCH and a slot scheduled for PDSCHand K1 defines a number of slots (e.g., from 0 to n) between a slotscheduled for the PDSCH and a slot scheduled for an acknowledgment. Inother words, when the UE is configured to monitor PDCCH in slot n, aPDSCH reception and ACK transmission may be scheduled in a single slotwith the PDCCH monitoring, e.g., time slot n, such that the reception(PDSCH)/transmission (ACK) and reception (PDCCH monitoring) may occurwithout an RFIC ramp down and an RFIC ramp up in between. Hence, if sucha scheduling-power profile is enabled (e.g., an RRC parameter K0 K1equal_0 is set to “true” or “1”), then the network may make schedulingdecisions (e.g., such as ACK transmission timing and PDSCH reception) tosatisfy the UE constraint.

As discussed above, in some embodiments, one or multiple profiles may beactive (e.g., configured for use) for data transfer between a UE, suchas UE 106, and a base station (network), such as base station 102, gNB604. In some embodiments, profiles may be dynamically changed (orswitched), e.g., in response to traffic arrival rate increases and/ordecreases, traffic delay requirement changes, power consumptionrequirement changes, and so forth. In some embodiments, the dynamicchange may be triggered via explicit signaling between the network andUE. For example, the network may send an explicit signal to the UE tochange an active profile to be used for a data transfer. As anotherexample, the UE may send an explicit signal to the network to requestchange of an active profile to be used for a data transfer. In someembodiments, the dynamic change may be triggered (additionally and/oralternatively) based on a timer. For example, an active profile to beused for a data transfer may change based on a timer operation.

In some embodiments, the network (e.g., gNB 604, base station 102) mayindicate a profile to use to a UE, such as UE 106 via signaling usingdownlink control information (DCI), a medium access control (MAC)control element (CE), and/or radio resource control (RRC) signaling. Forexample, the network may send (transmit) a signal (e.g., an indicationincluded in DCI, a MAC CE, and/or in RRC signaling) that may indicate tothe UE to use a high throughput profile when there is a large amount ofdata to deliver to the UE. As another example, the network may send(transmit) a signal (e.g., an indication included in DCI, a MAC CE,and/or in RRC signaling) that may indicate to the UE to use a powersaving profile when traffic arrival rate decreases below a threshold. Asa further example, the network may send (transmit) a layer 1 (L1) toindicate to the UE to use a low latency profile when supported trafficrequires low latency.

In some embodiments, the UE may send (transmit) a profile change requestsignal to the network. For example, when a UE knows that a downlink filetransfer has been finished and may want to switch to a power savingprofile. In other words, in response to completion of a downlink filetransfer, the UE may request a profile change to a power saving profile.

In some embodiments, a profile change may be based, at least in part, ona timer operation. For example, a default profile may be configured. Inaddition, a timer (e.g., a ProfileActiveTimer timer) may be defined. Thetimer may be started, restarted, and/or reset when the network activatesa new set of profiles. Additionally, the timer may be reset based on acondition obtaining. For example, in some embodiments, the condition mayinclude data arrival rate exceeding a threshold, a number of PDSCH slotsscheduled for a specified number of slots exceeds a threshold, and soforth. In some embodiments, upon timer expiration, a current activeprofile may be deactivated (disabled) and a default profile may beactivated (enabled). In some embodiments, the default profile may beupdated periodically, e.g., via the network.

Further Embodiments

In some embodiments, a method may include a user equipment device, suchas UE 106:

exchanging communications with a base station to determine one or morescheduling profiles, such as one or more scheduling-power profiles,wherein a scheduling-power profile specifies one or more parametersand/or constraints on UE communication behavior;

receiving a slot configuration schedule based on at least onescheduling-power profile of the one or more scheduling-power profiles;and

performing communications with the base station based on the at leastone scheduling-power profile.

In some embodiments, the communications with the base station todetermine the one or more scheduling-power profiles may include(comprise) radio resource control (RRC) signal message exchanges.

In some embodiments, the one or more scheduling-power profiles may notconflict with one another.

In some embodiments, the one or more scheduling-power profiles mayinclude (comprise) one or more of:

a profile for delayed acknowledgement (ACK) with physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) monitoring;

a profile for delayed physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) schedulingwith PDCCH monitoring;

a profile for cross-slot scheduling with PDCCH monitoring;

a profile for large bandwidth part (BWP) for large data packetscheduling;

a profile for self-contained slot scheduling;

a profile for power savings;

a profile for high throughput;

a profile for low latency;

a profile for high system capacity;

a profile for small data traffic; and/or a profile for PDCCH monitoringperiod.

In some embodiments, the one or more parameters and/or constraints mayinclude (comprise) one or more of:

a first parameter defining a set of values for search space monitoringperiodicity;

a second parameter defining a number of slots between a slot scheduledfor reception on the PDCCH and a slot scheduled for reception on thephysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH);

a third parameter defining a number of slots between a slot scheduledfor reception on the PDSCH and a slot scheduled for an acknowledgment;

a fourth parameter defining a number of slots between a slot scheduledfor reception on the PDCCH and a slot scheduled for transmission on thePUSCH;

a fifth parameter defining minimum and/or maximum bandwidth valuesand/or constraints in BWPs; and/or

a sixth parameter defining a set of supported number ofmultiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) layers.

In some embodiments, the one or more scheduling-power profiles mayinclude (comprise) a first profile constraining the base station toschedule transmission of an acknowledgment of data received on the PDCCHto a first slot immediately preceding a second slot scheduled for PDCCHmonitoring. In some embodiments, the first profile may be indicated viaa PS_ACK_Schedule RRC parameter.

In some embodiments, the one or more scheduling-power profiles mayinclude (comprise) a second profile constraining the base station toschedule transmission on the PUSCH to a third slot immediately precedinga fourth slot scheduled for PDCCH monitoring. In some embodiments, thesecond profile may be indicated via a PS_PUSCH_Schedule RRC parameter.

In some embodiments, the one or more scheduling-power profiles mayinclude (comprise) a third profile constraining the base station tocross-slot schedule transmission of an ACK of a PDCCH and a reception onthe physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to a fifth slot immediatelypreceding a sixth slot scheduled for PDCCH monitoring. In someembodiments, the third profile is indicated via a PS_K1_equal_0 RRCparameter.

In some embodiments, a method may include a base station, such as gNB604 and/or base station 102:

exchanging communications with a user equipment device (UE) to determineone or more scheduling profile, such as one or more scheduling-powerprofiles, wherein a scheduling-power profile specifies one or moreparameters and/or constraints on UE communication behavior;

transmitting, to the UE, a slot configuration schedule based on at leastone scheduling-power profile of the one or more scheduling-powerprofiles; and

performing communications with the UE based on the at least onescheduling-power profile.

In some embodiments, the communications with the UE to determine the oneor more scheduling-power profiles may include (comprise) radio resourcecontrol (RRC) signal message exchanges.

In some embodiments, the one or more scheduling-power profiles may notconflict with one another.

In some embodiments, the one or more scheduling-power profiles mayinclude (comprise) one or more of:

a profile for delayed acknowledgement (ACK) with physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) monitoring;

a profile for delayed physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) schedulingwith PDCCH monitoring;

a profile for cross-slot scheduling with PDCCH monitoring;

a profile for large bandwidth part (BWP) for large data packetscheduling;

a profile for self-contained slot scheduling;

a profile for power savings;

a profile for high throughput;

a profile for low latency;

a profile for high system capacity;

a profile for small data traffic; and/or a profile for PDCCH monitoringperiod.

In some embodiments, the one or more parameters and/or constraints mayinclude (comprise) one or more of:

a first parameter defining a set of values for search space monitoringperiodicity;

a second parameter defining a number of slots between a slot scheduledfor reception on the PDCCH and a slot scheduled for reception on thephysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH);

a third parameter defining a number of slots between a slot scheduledfor reception on the PDSCH and a slot scheduled for an acknowledgment;

a fourth parameter defining a number of slots between a slot scheduledfor reception on the PDCCH and a slot scheduled for transmission on thePUSCH;

a fifth parameter defining minimum and/or maximum bandwidth valuesand/or constraints in BWPs; and/or

a sixth parameter defining a set of supported number ofmultiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) layers.

In some embodiments, the one or more scheduling-power profiles mayinclude (comprise) a first profile constraining the base station toschedule transmission of an acknowledgment of data received on the PDCCHto a first slot immediately preceding a second slot scheduled for PDCCHmonitoring.

In some embodiments, the first profile may be indicated via aPS_ACK_Schedule RRC parameter.

In some embodiments, the one or more scheduling-power profiles mayinclude (comprise) a second profile constraining the base station toschedule transmission on the PUSCH to a third slot immediately precedinga fourth slot scheduled for PDCCH monitoring. In some embodiments, thesecond profile may be indicated via a PS_PUSCH_Schedule RRC parameter.

In some embodiments, the one or more scheduling-power profiles mayinclude (comprise) a third profile constraining the base station tocross-slot schedule transmission of an ACK of a PDCCH and a reception onthe physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to a fifth slot immediatelypreceding a sixth slot scheduled for PDCCH monitoring. In someembodiments, the third profile may be indicated via a PS_K1_equal_0 RRCparameter.

It is well understood that the use of personally identifiableinformation should follow privacy policies and practices that aregenerally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmentalrequirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular,personally identifiable information data should be managed and handledso as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use,and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be realized in any of variousforms. For example, some embodiments may be realized as acomputer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or acomputer system. Other embodiments may be realized using one or morecustom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Still other embodimentsmay be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements such asFPGAs.

In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory mediummay be configured so that it stores program instructions and/or data,where the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, causethe computer system to perform a method, e.g., any of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any combination of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets.

In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE 106) may be configured toinclude a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, wherethe memory medium stores program instructions, where the processor isconfigured to read and execute the program instructions from the memorymedium, where the program instructions are executable to implement anyof the various method embodiments described herein (or, any combinationof the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of themethod embodiments described herein, or, any combination of suchsubsets). The device may be realized in any of various forms.

Although the embodiments above have been described in considerabledetail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent tothose skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace allsuch variations and modifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. A user equipment device (UE), comprising: atleast one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the antenna; and aprocessing element coupled to the at least one radio, wherein theprocess element is configured to cause the UE to: exchangecommunications with a base station to determine one or morescheduling-power profiles, wherein a scheduling-power profile specifiesone or more parameters and one or more constraints on UE communicationbehavior; receive a slot configuration schedule based on at least onescheduling-power profile of the one or more scheduling-power profiles;and perform communications with the base station based on the at leastone scheduling-power profile.
 2. The UE of claim 1, wherein thecommunications with the base station to determine the one or morescheduling-power profiles include radio resource control (RRC) signalmessage exchanges.
 3. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or morescheduling-power profiles do not conflict with one another.
 4. The UE ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more scheduling-power profiles include oneor more of: a profile for delayed acknowledgement (ACK) with physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring; a profile for delayedphysical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduling with PDCCH monitoring;a profile for cross-slot scheduling with PDCCH monitoring; a profile forlarge bandwidth part (BWP) for large data packet scheduling; a profilefor self-contained slot scheduling; a profile for power savings; aprofile for high throughput; a profile for low latency; a profile forhigh system capacity; a profile for small data traffic; or a profile forPDCCH monitoring period.
 5. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or moreparameters include one or more of: a first parameter defining a set ofvalues for search space monitoring periodicity; a second parameterdefining a number of slots between a slot scheduled for reception on thephysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a slot scheduled forreception on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); a thirdparameter defining a number of slots between a slot scheduled forreception on the PDSCH and a slot scheduled for an acknowledgment; afourth parameter defining a number of slots between a slot scheduled forreception on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a slotscheduled for transmission on the physical uplink shared channel(PUSCH); a fifth parameter defining minimum and/or maximum bandwidthvalues and/or constraints in large bandwidth parts (BWPs); or a sixthparameter defining a set of supported number ofmultiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) layers.
 6. The UE of claim 1,wherein the one or more scheduling-power profiles comprise a profileconstraining the base station to schedule transmission of anacknowledgment of data received on the physical downlink control channel(PDCCH) to a first slot immediately preceding a second slot scheduledfor PDCCH monitoring, and wherein the profile is indicated via aPS_ACK_Schedule radio resource control parameter.
 7. The UE of claim 1,wherein the one or more scheduling-power profiles include a profileconstraining the base station to schedule transmission on the physicaluplink shared channel (PUSCH) to a third slot immediately preceding afourth slot scheduled for the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)monitoring, and wherein the profile is indicated via a PS_PUSCH_Scheduleradio resource control (RRC) parameter.
 8. The UE of claim 1, whereinthe one or more scheduling-power profiles include a profile constrainingthe base station to cross-slot schedule transmission of anacknowledgement (ACK) of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) anda reception on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to a fifthslot immediately preceding a sixth slot scheduled for PDCCH monitoring,and wherein the profile is indicated via a PS_K1_equal_0 radio resourcecontrol (RRC) parameter.
 9. An apparatus, comprising: a memory; and atleast one processor in communication with the memory; wherein the atleast one processor is configured to: exchange radio resource control(RRC) messages with a base station to determine one or more schedulingprofiles, wherein a scheduling profile specifies one or more parametersand one or more constraints on communication behavior; receive a slotconfiguration schedule based on at least one scheduling profile of theone or more scheduling profiles; and perform, based on the at least onescheduling profile, communications with the base station.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more scheduling profiles do notconflict with one another.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the oneor more scheduling profiles include three or more of: a profile fordelayed acknowledgement (ACK) with physical downlink control channel(PDCCH) monitoring; a profile for delayed physical uplink shared channel(PUSCH) scheduling with PDCCH monitoring; a profile for cross-slotscheduling with PDCCH monitoring; a profile for large bandwidth part(BWP) for large data packet scheduling; a profile for self-containedslot scheduling; a profile for power savings; a profile for highthroughput; a profile for low latency; a profile for high systemcapacity; a profile for small data traffic; or a profile for PDCCHmonitoring period.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or moreparameters include three or more of: a first parameter defining a set ofvalues for search space monitoring periodicity; a second parameterdefining a number of slots between a slot scheduled for reception on thephysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a slot scheduled forreception on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); a thirdparameter defining a number of slots between a slot scheduled forreception on the PDSCH and a slot scheduled for an acknowledgment; afourth parameter defining a number of slots between a slot scheduled forreception on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a slotscheduled for transmission on the physical uplink shared channel(PUSCH); a fifth parameter defining minimum and/or maximum bandwidthvalues and/or constraints in large bandwidth parts (BWPs); or a sixthparameter defining a set of supported number ofmultiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) layers.
 13. The apparatus of claim9, wherein the one or more scheduling profiles include: a first profileconstraining the base station to schedule transmission of anacknowledgment of data received on the physical downlink control channel(PDCCH) to a first slot immediately preceding a second slot scheduledfor PDCCH monitoring; a second profile constraining the base station toschedule transmission on the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) to athird slot immediately preceding a fourth slot scheduled for thephysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring; and a thirdprofile constraining the base station to cross-slot scheduletransmission of an acknowledgement (ACK) of a physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH) and a reception on the physical downlink shared channel(PDSCH) to a fifth slot immediately preceding a sixth slot scheduled forPDCCH monitoring
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the firstprofile is indicated via a PS_ACK_Schedule radio resource control (RRC)parameter, wherein the second profile is indicated via aPS_PUSCH_Schedule RRC parameter, and wherein the third profile isindicated via a PS_K1_equal_0_RRC parameter.
 15. A non-transitory memorymedium comprising program instructions that, when executed by processingcircuitry of a user equipment device (UE), cause the UE to: transmit aproposal of scheduling-power profiles to a base station, wherein ascheduling-power profile specifies one or more parameters and one ormore constraints on UE communication behavior; receive, from the basestation, a counter proposal of scheduling-power profiles; exchange oneor more additional communications with the base station to determine ascheduling-power profile for communications with the base station;receive, from the base station, a slot configuration schedule based onthe determined scheduling-power profile; and perform communications withthe base station based on the determined scheduling-power profile. 16.The non-transitory memory medium of claim 15, wherein the communicationswith the base station to determine the one or more scheduling-powerprofiles include radio resource control (RRC) signal message exchanges.17. The non-transitory memory medium of claim 15, wherein thescheduling-power profiles include two or more of: a profile for delayedacknowledgement (ACK) with physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)monitoring; a profile for delayed physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)scheduling with PDCCH monitoring; a profile for cross-slot schedulingwith PDCCH monitoring; a profile for large bandwidth part (BWP) forlarge data packet scheduling; a profile for self-contained slotscheduling; a profile for power savings; a profile for high throughput;a profile for low latency; a profile for high system capacity; a profilefor small data traffic; or a profile for PDCCH monitoring period. 18.The non-transitory memory medium of claim 15, wherein the one or moreparameters include three or more of: a first parameter defining a set ofvalues for search space monitoring periodicity; a second parameterdefining a number of slots between a slot scheduled for reception on thephysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a slot scheduled forreception on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); a thirdparameter defining a number of slots between a slot scheduled forreception on the PDSCH and a slot scheduled for an acknowledgment; afourth parameter defining a number of slots between a slot scheduled forreception on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a slotscheduled for transmission on the physical uplink shared channel(PUSCH); a fifth parameter defining minimum and/or maximum bandwidthvalues and/or constraints in large bandwidth parts (BWPs); or a sixthparameter defining a set of supported number ofmultiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) layers.
 19. The non-transitorymemory medium of claim 15, wherein the more scheduling-power profilesinclude at least one of: a first profile constraining the base stationto schedule transmission of an acknowledgment of data received on thephysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a first slot immediatelypreceding a second slot scheduled for PDCCH monitoring; a second profileconstraining the base station to schedule transmission on the physicaluplink shared channel (PUSCH) to a third slot immediately preceding afourth slot scheduled for the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)monitoring; or a third profile constraining the base station tocross-slot schedule transmission of an acknowledgement (ACK) of aphysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a reception on thephysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to a fifth slot immediatelypreceding a sixth slot scheduled for PDCCH monitoring
 20. Thenon-transitory memory medium of claim 19, wherein the first profile isindicated via a PS_ACK_Schedule radio resource control (RRC) parameter,wherein the second profile is indicated via a PS_PUSCH_Schedule RRCparameter, and wherein the third profile is indicated via aPS_K1_equal_0 RRC parameter.